Ben Verducci's sensational defensive play and rally-starting double were both instrumental as Montgomery won its sixth straight game on Tuesday. (Alex Remnick/The Star-Ledger)

After a strong season at second base as a junior, Montgomery coach Pete Mueller decided to move Ben Verducci to shortstop this spring.

Verducci has been just as stellar at his new position, but yesterday the Haverford College-bound senior took it to an entirely different level.

Verducci ranged deep to his right, plucked a hard-hit ground ball and then made a spectacular throw at first to get the runner as Montgomery, No. 13 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, snuffed out a potential seventh inning rally by No. 14 Immaculata before it even started and held on for a 4-3 triumph at Diamond Nation in Flemington.

“He has some of the quickest hands we’ve had,” Mueller said. “And he’s just so intelligent, gets good reads on balls and makes plays like that. He makes them look easy, and they’re not.”

Montgomery held a one-run lead going into the seventh, but Immaculata had the heart of its order due up, starting with designated hitter Brandon Wagner, perhaps its best hitter. Chances were if Wagner got on, a pinch runner would enter and try to steal second and get into scoring position for No. 3 hitter Luke Bonfield and cleanup man J.T. Himelrick, both of whom already had driven in runs.

At first, it looked like Wagner had done his part, hitting the ball into the hole between shortstop and third base.

But somehow, Verducci got there and got enough on the throw across the diamond, sending the ball into first baseman D.J. Nozza’s glove a split second before Wagner’s foot touched the bag for a first out of the inning that may as well have been the final one of the game.

“That was the nail in the coffin,” Immaculata coach Kevin Cust said. “You get the leadoff guy on, it’s a different story.”

After Wagner, Immaculata (6-3) would go quietly. Bonfield grounded out to Verducci for the second out, followed by Montgomery lefty Evan Gillespie striking out Himelrick to finish off his 2 1/3 innings of scoreless, hitless relief as Montgomery (10-1) won its sixth straight game and took sole possession of first place in the Skyland Conference-Delaware Division with a 6-1 league record to Immaculata’s 5-2.

“We had high expectations in the beginning of the season,” Verducci said. “We’re definitely living up to those so far. We want to continue on our path.”

Verducci also had a strong day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and run. His extra base hit opened what became a three-run fourth inning for Montgomery, as it took advantage of two Immaculata errors and RBI singles by Zach DeVincenzo and Nozza in the frame to erase a 1-0 deficit.

Immaculata would tie the game with two runs in the second off an RBI sacrifice fly by Bonfield and an RBI double by Micah Harris. Himelrick had an RBI single in the third to put Immaculata ahead initially.

But Montgomery would get the eventual game-winning run in the sixth when Adam Kornberg’s RBI single scored Robert LaRue with two outs.

Gillespie earned the win and improved to 3-0 in relief of starter Chris Bumstead, who went 5 2/3 and allowed three runs on five hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Eric Bateman took the loss for Immaculata, falling to 2-1. He went six innings, yielding four runs (two earned) on six hits with five strikeouts and four walks.

“It’s a whole different game (if Wagner gets on),” Mueller said. "That, to me, is the turning point of that inning. It was kind of deflating. They think they have an opportunity, and not too many high school kids make that play.”